INTERNATIONAL
STORIES

Catholic
Church

Pope Francis is changing his church on the
death penalty. What next? (The
Guardian, Australia) Oct 17 – (Opinion: Joanna Moorhead) Pope Francis has condemned the death
penalty many times during the almost five years of his papacy: but this week,
he made an even more significant move when he signalled that he would change
church teaching to make it inadmissible.

Also:
Rise and fall of Isis: its dream of a caliphate
is over, so what now? (The
Guardian, Australia) Oct 22 - For a group with such spectacular ambitions, Islamic State’s last
stand took place in surroundings of almost shocking banality: a hospital and
sports stadium in Raqqa, the Syrian town that was the political capital of its
self-styled caliphate.

Freedom not to choose is a faith worth
believing in (The Guardian,
Australia) Oct 22 – (Opinion: David Mitchell) “We are exceptional. It’s important to know
that we are different,” former British Museum director Neil MacGregor said
about Britain last week.